Mission Valley resident Dominic Chenelia applauds yesterday's ruling by federal regulators that could allow TiVo owners to send copies of recorded shows over the Internet to their friends.

The Federal Communications Commission decision brings closer the day when Chenelia can use his digital video recorder to capture a National Football League clip, for example, and gloatingly e-mail it to a rival in his fantasy football league.

"I'd use a feature like that a lot," Chenelia said.

TiVo's application was opposed by the Motion Picture Association of America and the NFL. They argued that TiVo's proposed technology opens the door to widespread abuse of copyrighted television programming, just as digital recording of music led to illegal "sharing" of music files over the Internet.

Existing technologies can move copyrighted entertainment content, such as movies or TV programs, from room to room. But this is the first time the FCC has approved technology that would allow consumers to electronically send programming outside their homes by using the Internet.

The FCC ruled that TiVo has put into place sufficient safeguards to prevent mass distribution of copyrighted material.

Still, Commissioner Kevin Martin, who voted to approve the TiVo technology, cautioned that TiVo's security measures may not be strong enough.

"I ultimately want to enable a person's digital networking environment to extend beyond the home," Martin said. "I fear, however, that we may be acting prematurely."

TiVo, with 1.6 million subscribers, is the best-known developer of digital video recorder technology.

They are supercharged VCRs, recording video as digital files on a hard drive. They are generally more versatile and easier to use than VCRs.

In homes with a high-speed Internet connection, TiVos and other DVRs already use that connection to download TV schedules.

With TiVo's new technology, each TiVo will require an add-on piece of security hardware, such as a smart card, to verify that the sender and recipient are authorized to share programming, TiVo spokeswoman Kathleen Kelly said.

Under the FCC approval, Internet transmission of shared files would be restricted to copies of free programs broadcast over the airwaves and would not include paid content from cable or satellite services, Kelly said. The programs could be sent to up to nine other TiVos owned by family members or friends.

Kelly said the company has not yet designed a DVR capable of using the newly approved technology, nor is there a timetable for the product.

The NFL and MPAA say the TiVo system would deny copyright holders control over when and where programs are broadcast.

The NFL views the ability to control regional broadcasts as critical to its television contracts and to its ability to "black out" broadcasts in cities where games have not sold out. The league does not allow local broadcasts for the home team unless the game sells out 72 hours before kickoff.

TiVo says the technology cannot be used to transmit a real-time version of a football game. A digital file of the game would only be transmitted after a game is over.

The NFL is not convinced.

"We believe this technology has the potential to transmit a game in very close to real time so it could be sold on the black market, perhaps to a sports bar in a city where the game is blacked out," said Brian McCarthy, NFL director of corporate communications.

McCarthy said the NFL and MPAA are considering a legal challenge to the FCC's decision.

The technology that TiVo asked the FCC to approve recognizes the "broadcast flag," which the agency approved in late 2003.

The flag is an electronic signal that tells digital video recorders to encrypt shows when recording. The encryption prevents widespread distribution over the Internet.

TiVo calls the new technology "remote access," but said it is not part of the TiVoToGo service that the company plans to offer this fall.

That service will let a user transfer recorded shows to a computer. It can be used by those who want to put TV shows on their laptops to take with them when they're on the road.

TiVoToGo, which sends an analog signal to the TV and computer monitor, did not require FCC approval.

In contrast, the newly approved technology will send a digital signal between TiVos. Digital files can be more easily copied and distributed on the Internet.

Also yesterday, the FCC approved a number of proposed technologies from Microsoft, Sony and others that all aim to prevent piracy by recognizing the broadcast flag. The Associated Press contributed to this report.